“Madoff debt still hangs over the franchise. But with the losses narrowing and the capital base injected with a fresh $240 million from minority investors, the Mets position is getting steadily stronger. … There’s still work to be done. But if the Madoff saga has a silver lining, it’s in forcing the Mets to do what they should have done earlier: ramp up the talent base and build something sustainable rather than spin your wheels trying to win every year. With a little bit of patience, you’ll not only sell out those suites, you’ll sell them out for several years.”

I’m going to tomorrow’s game. I’m VERY interested to see how fans treat Chipper. Personally, though I still get sick thinking of what he’s done to the Mets on field, I have grown to appreciate and respect how he’s played the villain for us off field. He seems to really get that baseball is fun, it’s entertainment, and he likes it when we boo and chant his real name. I wish he didn’t get the better end of the results, believe me. I hate him (in a baseball context). But, I do love to hate him. I’m not going to say I’ll miss him when he’s gone, but I do enjoy a good rivalry – especially one that transcends the diamond and spills over in to post-game quotes and in to the stands… and he’s done that, for two decades.